Soon to be IRA money

[AL5AcE]

I'd just online savings it until Jan 1st. Trading in ETFs = transaction costs + volatility. What if you ended up less than 5k on Jan 1st?

I think that would suck more than the short term gains you might get over the ~4-5% in online savings.

[mtgordon]

I have enough money in other ETFs that I could sell to get the 5k. I guess another thing is that if I throw it into an ETF that I already have money in is that if I have to sell the original shares it could generate taxes even if the money I just put in loses money right?

[Badger]

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I have enough money in other ETFs that I could sell to get the 5k. I guess another thing is that if I throw it into an ETF that I already have money in is that if I have to sell the original shares it could generate taxes even if the money I just put in loses money right?

[/ QUOTE ]
Definitely a good point to consider. I took a look at a calendar and lo and behold we're in October. Less than 3 months at a volatile expected return of 10% compared to 4-5% just doesn't seem worth it unless you're very comfortable and accustomed to moving money around like this. Not just for risk reasons, but for bookkeeping/tax reasons, as you pointed out.